Mission Statement

We believe all South African Children, regardless of “zip code”, should have access to a quality preschool experience because 90% of the brain’s development happens (or does not) in the first five years of life. ASAP donations enable children to discover the love of learning so they can succeed in school.

ASAP and our South African partner PEN (which stands for Participate, Envision, Navigate):

• Enable informal childcare settings to borrow Play and Learn Kits of educational toys, games, puzzles, books phonics reading program, leggos, sports and musical equipment

• Train and mentor caregivers, equipping them as educators who guide learning through play,

• Create new Educational Toy Library Hubs in under-resourced communities where PEN’s coaches help daycares become functional preschools.

Why We Do What We Do

More than 60% of preschool children in South Africa live below the poverty line.

Most grow up in single-mother households. The official unemployment statistic is 34% although some reports say it is 65% among 18-30 year-olds. Someone must look after young children while their mothers work, look for work, or beg.  If relatives are not available, as is increasingly the case, children often languish in informal daycares where there is nothing to stimulate their curiosity and development.

Often 20-35 children sit in front of a TV all day in the apartment of a woman who has taken them in to earn money.  Although entrepreneurial, these women lack training in early childhood development and can’t afford educational toys.

As a result, few children from these communities are ready for public kindergarten. 80% of South African fourth graders cannot understand what they read; 40% cannot read at all. This deficit follows them through school. Such students drop out, become pregnant, get involved with substances, or join gangs searching for self-esteem, power, diversion, and belonging.

Preschool education enables children to learn through play, preparing them to thrive in school and and become responsible, employable, and successful adults who can reach for their dreams.

Collaboration with PEN’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) Support Centers

PEN is a 30-year old, independently-funded, nonprofit ministry network in Pretoria (www.pen.org.za). The name stands for Participate, Envision, Navigate. PEN’s vision is to ignite, change, nurture, and heal individuals and communities. PEN works with the homeless, with teens, and older adults. However their increasing focus is on preschool education in disadvantaged communities. Their mission, which ASAP has adopted, is that every South African child has access to a quality preschool experience.

Working with PEN’s Early Childhood Development Support Centers, ASAP establishes well-equipped libraries of educational toys and resources to support implementation of the national preschool curriculum. PEN’s coaches have prior training in Early Childhood Development (ECD) and are hired from the same communities as the daycare owners they will mentor. Their familiarity with local culture and languages is invaluable. Daycare owners and their staff are immediately called teachers, and their settings are immediately referred to as preschools. Weekly lesson planning, weekly visits from their PEN coach, and monthly workshops enable teachers to learn how each toy enhances a child’s skills and helps teach the theme of that week’s curriculum module.

Preschool owners are eager to enhance their schools as well as to enhance their business skills. Bi-annually, owners and PEN staff review progress and set new goals aligned with the 115 standards for a government-approved preschool. When schools register at an ASAP-PEN hub, most first focus on basic health and safety categories. Government funds are not available until schools meet all the standards which is a challenge few preschools will be able to meet in the areas where we are working. But “perfect” is not required for children to gain the foundation to thrive in elementary school. First grade teachers applaud how well children from “our” preschools are doing.

PEN has begun bi-annual assessments (based on several national assessments) of every 3, 4, and 5-year-old in the preschools we support. This tracks their increasing readiness for primary school and ensures that the teaching is on track and children are gaining vital skills and competencies.